Batch Convert *.numbers to *.csv AppleScript - applescript

Question

I was looking for a script that would batch convert all *.numbers files in a given folder to *.csv files.
I found the following on GitHub and added an additional line as suggested in the comments suggestion. When I run the script, Numbers launches and opens the test file from the folder specified - but the file is not exported. Numbers just stays open and terminal errors out with:
/Users/Shared/Untitled.scpt: execution error: Numbers got an error: Invalid key form. (-10002)
The script (located in /Users/Shared) has the following permissions:
-rwxr-xr-x
#!/usr/bin/osascript
on run argv
set theFilePath to POSIX file (item 1 of argv)
set theFolder to theFilePath as alias
tell application "Finder" to set theDocs to theFolder's items
-- Avoid export privilege problem
set privilegeFile to (theFolder as text) & ".permission"
close access (open for access privilegeFile)
repeat with aDoc in theDocs
set docName to aDoc's name as text
if docName ends with ".numbers" then
set exportName to (theFolder as text) & docName
set exportName to exportName's text 1 thru -9
set exportName to (exportName & "csv")
tell application "Numbers"
open aDoc
delay 5 -- may need to adjust this higher
tell front document
export to file exportName as CSV
close
end tell
end tell
end if
end repeat
end run
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Here is what I did and works for me in macOS High Sierra:
In Terminal:
touch numb2csv; open -e numb2csv; chmod +x numb2csv
• This creates an empty ASCII Text file named numb2csv.
• Opens, by default, numb2csv in TextEdit.
• Makes the numb2csv file executable.
Copy and paste the example AppleScript code, shown further below, into the opened numb2csv file.
Save and close the numb2csv file.
In Terminal executed the numb2csv executable file, e.g.:
./numb2csv "$HOME/Documents"
This created a CSV file of the same name as each Numbers document in my Documents folder, not traversing any nested folders.
Example AppleScript code:
#!/usr/bin/osascript
on run argv
set theFilePath to POSIX file (item 1 of argv)
set theFolder to theFilePath as alias
tell application "System Events" to set theDocs to theFolder's items whose name extension = "numbers"
repeat with aDoc in theDocs
set docName to aDoc's name as text
set exportName to (theFolder as text) & docName
set exportName to exportName's text 1 thru -8
set exportName to (exportName & "csv")
tell application "Numbers"
launch
open aDoc
repeat until exists document 1
delay 3
end repeat
tell front document
export to file exportName as CSV
close
end tell
end tell
end repeat
tell application "Numbers" to quit
end run
NOTE: As coded, this will overwrite an existing CSV file of the same name as each Numbers file processed, if they already exist. Additional coding required if wanting to not overwrite existing files
If you receive the Script Error:
Numbers got an error: The document “name” could not be exported as “name”. You don’t have permission.
It is my experience that the Numbers document was not fully opened prior to being exported and that increasing the value of the delay command resolves this issue. This is of course assuming that one actually has write permissions in the folder the target Numbers documents exists.
Or one can introduce an error handler within the tell front document block which, if my theory is right about the target document not being fully loaded before the export, will give additional time, e.g.:
Change:
tell front document
export to file exportName as CSV
close
end tell
To:
tell front document
try
export to file exportName as CSV
close
on error
delay 3
export to file exportName as CSV
close
end try
end tell
Note: The primary example AppleScript code is just that and does not contain any error handling as may be appropriate. The onus is upon the user to add any error handling as may be appropriate, needed or wanted. Have a look at the try statement and error statement in the AppleScript Language Guide. See also, Working with Errors. See included example directly above.

Answer 2

I was looking for that, unfortunately, that doesn’t work anymore.
This line
tell application "System Events" to set theDocs to theFolder's items whose name extension = "numbers"
Gets the following error:
execution error: Can’t make file "file.numbers" of application "System Events" into the expected type. (-1700)
macOs Big Sur Versio 11.01
automator version 2.10
Numbers version 10.3.5
Inspired by this thread and those articles Exporting Numbers Documents and Get full directory contents with AppleScript
The following code works:
#!/usr/bin/osascript
log "Start"
property exportFileExtension : "csv"
tell application "Finder"
activate
set sourceFolder to choose folder with prompt "Please select directory."
set fileList to name of every file of sourceFolder
end tell
set the defaultDestinationFolder to sourceFolder
repeat with documentName in fileList
log "documentName: " & documentName
set fullPath to (sourceFolder as text) & documentName
log "fullPath: " & fullPath
if documentName ends with ".numbers" then
set documentName to text 1 thru -9 of documentName
tell application "Finder"
set newExportItemName to documentName & "." & exportFileExtension
set incrementIndex to 1
repeat until not (exists document file newExportItemName of defaultDestinationFolder)
set newExportItemName to ¬
documentName & "-" & (incrementIndex as string) & "." & exportFileExtension
set incrementIndex to incrementIndex + 1
end repeat
end tell
set the targetFileHFSPath to ¬
(defaultDestinationFolder as string) & newExportItemName
tell application "Numbers"
launch
open fullPath
with timeout of 1200 seconds
export front document to file targetFileHFSPath as CSV
end timeout
close
end tell
end if
end repeat

Answer 3

user3439894's answer works with a few change:
exists document 1 => number of documents > 0